Apply some of the included MX-4 or MX-5 thermal paste to the top of your CPU. Remember to remove the plastic label from the copper base before attaching the pump head to your CPU. It’s time to connect the cables after everything is in its proper spot. Connect the 4-pin PWM connection to any available Fan header on your motherboard, then connect the 3-pin A-RGB header to an RGB header. This means that coolers that kept previous generation products like the i9-10900K nice and cool sometimes struggle to keep Intel's i9-12900K under TJ max–the maximum temperature before the CPU starts to throttle. Many coolers that I’ve tested fail to keep the i9-12900K under TJ max when power limits are removed in workloads like Cinebench and OCCT when I’ve tested them, including many coolers I previously considered “top of the line.” With the review out of the way, let’s clearly discuss who the cooler is for and who it isn’t for. Buy It If: Modern AMD & Intel CPUs are designed to run fairly hot without any problems– up to 95 degrees Celsius for AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs, and up to 100 degrees C for Intel’s Core i9-13900K. Similar behavior has been standard in laptops for years due to cooling limitations in cramped chassis.

You prefer an RGB pump: If you specifically want RGB lighting on the pump itself, this cooler may not meet your preference, as it focuses on RGB lighting in the fan blades. Final Words In conclusion, the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 240 A-RGB is a solid AIO cooler, providing remarkable cooling performance and aesthetics, making it a great value at its price point.

Thanks to ARCTIC for sending out their ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 240 A-RGB for Review. Awards Received By The Arctic Liquid Freezer II 240 A-RGB Tier 2: These coolers are able to keep the i9-12900K under the TJ max threshold with CPU power limits of 200W enforced. I expect most liquid coolers and the best air coolers to meet this standard. We tested the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 240 A-RGB on the Intel i9-12900K to test the cooler to the limits. The tests were conducted in the Thermaltake View 71t, which has 5 intake fans on the front whilst 3 fans are used for exhaust including the ARCTIC P12 PWM PST A-RGB Fans on top. We used the original MX-5 paste that came with the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 240 A-RGB in the box. Test System You value build quality and aesthetics: The cooler has a sturdy build and an attractive design with RGB lighting on the fans. It adds a touch of style to your PC while providing efficient cooling.

To test the limits of a cooler's thermal dissipation capabilities, I run two primary stress tests: Cinebench and OCCT each for 10 minutes. While this may be a short amount of time, it is sufficient to push most coolers–air and liquid–to their limits. Tier 1: These coolers are able to keep the i9-12900K below TJ max in most loads, with no power limits enforced. I expect only the best liquid coolers to meet this standard. In BIOS, we set the i9-12900k voltage to 1.15V, the P-Cores to 4.9 GHz, and the E-Cores to 3.9 GHz. By forcing usage of roughly 140W, we enable comparison with basic heatsinks. We then ran the test in Aida64 for 5 minutes with the processor and memory boxes turned on. Finally, delta temperatures between the ambient temperature and the related test are considered for the ranking.

The latest Intel Core i9-12900K will be our friend during the testing, the rest of the specs are as below;

These tests demonstrated that the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 240 A-RGB is more than just a good cooler. The cooler is capable of outperforming any 240mm cooler on the market while competing with 360mm AIOs. Should You Buy It? The majority of Liquid Coolers on the market today are based around Asetek designs, but the Liquid Freezer II features a pump which was designed in-house by Arctic, with the goal of quieter operation and higher efficiency. Like its fans, the water pump is PWM-controlled and will adjust its speeds. This decreases power consumption and leads to lower noise levels in lighter workloads. You want excellent cooling performance: The ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 240 A-RGB offers outstanding cooling capabilities, especially for its price range, making it a solid choice for keeping your PC cool and optimized. In the graph above, we can see that the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 240 A-RGB outperforms a lot of other competitors. We put the coolers up against the Noctua air coolers and the Thermaltake Toughliquid 240 A-RGB. While it was fairly easy with previous generations of CPUs for coolers to keep the flagship i9 processor well under TJ max (the maximum temperature a CPU can sustain without throttling) in tough workloads, this is no longer realistically possible with the Core i9-13900K without extreme cooling (or enabling power limits). While in the past a CPU hitting its peak temperature was cause for concern, enthusiasts are going to have to learn to accept high temperatures as “normal” while running demanding workloads with Raptor Lake and Ryzen 7000 CPUs.

You prefer an easy-to-install pump design: Despite its unique appearance, the pump design doesn’t interfere with RAM or PCIe clearance and is easier to work with, making installation hassle-free. Don’t Buy It If: I'll be testing Arctic’s Liquid Freezer II 240 with Intel's i9-12900K. Due to the increased thermal density of the Intel 7 manufacturing process, as well as changes to core and component layouts, Alder Lake CPUs are more difficult to cool than previous generation CPUs in the most heat-intensive of workloads. Install the radiator in the desired direction of airflow onto the top or front of your case using the 8x screws and flat washers provided. The ARCTIC Liquid Freezer is seen crushing all of its competitors by maintaining a maximum temperature of 41.6 degrees under PWM settings, while other coolers were spotted crossing 45 degrees. The cooler managed to drop 2-3 degrees more at the Max settings, down to 38.3 degrees, which was far from amazing. Tier 3: These coolers are able to keep the i9-12900K under TJ max with CPU power limits of 140W enforced. Testing Methodology

The ARCTIC P12 PWM PST A-RGB Fans are included with the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 240 A-RGB. Fan (Image by Tech4Gamers)The increased cooling challenges posed by Raptor Lake mean that we’ve had to change some of the ways we test coolers. Some coolers were able to pass Cinebench R23 multicore testing with Intel’s 12th Gen i9-12900K when power limits were removed (although only the strongest models were able to pass that test). In addition to testing Cinebench without power limits enforced, we’ll also be showing results when the CPU’s power consumption is limited to a more reasonable 200W. We’ll also show results at 125W for those who prefer whisper-quiet cooling, at the cost of some performance. For both of these results, we’ll show traditional delta over ambient temperature results.